Diary of a Crafty Lady: Finished Zig Zag Scrap Quilt

February 6, 2014

Finished Zig Zag Scrap Quilt

This summer, I finished my first ever quilt! At least, I finished the top ;) Once it was quilted it took me a while to finish the binding - and so here I am finally posting about my scrappy zig zag quilt...

I know there are many of you out there, just like me, saving all those little tiny scraps of fabric - knowing that some day you will find a use for them. Am I right?? They are impossible to manage in the fabric bin, but it is amazing how often I'll find a use for a strip of fabric here or there.
Well, at some point, when you've accumulated more scraps than you can handle, try making one of these stash buster zig zag quilts!! Each piece of fabric is only a couple inches wide and a few inches long, so you can really utilize those tiny scraps!

I saw this design on Pinterest originally. I just figured out the pattern on my own (but there is a .pdf available to purchase on etsy), and then I went to town cutting, ironing, and sewing. It took a while, but it was fun.

I want to keep track of the tricks I used for quilting, and how I did the binding, so I can remember for next time!
So, here's my first great tip, which my mom "the quilter" taught me...

Once you have all your quilt blocks made, lay your quilt out once (like it is above).
When it is just the way you want it, stack each of the squares by row. In other words, if we say row #1 is at the bottom, you will stack all the squares in row #1 from left to right.

Once you have one entire row stacked in order, set a piece of paper on top with the row # on it. I like to place my number always on the left side. Pin through the stack with a safety pin, including the paper.

You will end up with a stack for each row, numbered starting from #1 at the bottom, all the way the number of rows at the top.

Now, you don't have to keep your quilt out, all the stacks are safely pinned together, and you can work your way down the stack, sewing each block together to form a row.

Once an entire row is sewn together, I pin the number again on the left side. You do have to be careful to keep track of right side up while you are going through this process.

When all the rows are sewn, I lay out my entire quilt again, just to make sure that I have done everything correctly. Once I have confirmed my placement, I begin sewing each row together, using my pinned paper numbers to sew them in the correct order.

This process has been a life saver for me, since I have three little kids running around! I never worry that my blocks will end up in a disorganize heap on the floor. They'll just end up in an organized heap on the floor ;)

Quilt top all finished? ~~ Now you can send it to my mom for quilting! ;) Oh yes, I am a lucky girl. My mom has a sweeeet quilting machine, and she generously quilts things for me!

Below is a picture of the quilt top, batting and backing all sewn together with a fun, swirly, quilting design.

Below you can see a close up of the pattern...

And then comes the fun part. *sarcasm*

My mom actually likes to do the binding. I would rather NOT (EVER) stitch by hand. But, this is the way the real quilters do it, and it does look really really good when it is all done!!

Next time, I'll give you a detailed description of how I did the binding. It sure looks beautiful!